Cannon qualifies No. 14 in Joliet

DON SCHUMACHER RACING
NHRA POWERade DRAG RACING SERIES
Round 10 of 23
LUCAS OIL NHRA ROUTE 66 NATIONALS
ROUTE 66 RACEWAY
JOLIET, ILL.
Race Date: May 30-June 1

Contact: Judy Stropus 203-438-0501; cell 203-243-2438

CANNON CONTINUES HIS QUALIFYING STREAK IN JOLIET

JOLIET, Ill. (May 31, 2003) - Driving the Oakley Funny Car, Scotty Cannon
has qualified for each of the 10 events of the 2003 POWERade Drag Racing
Series so far, collecting the No. 14 spot today with a 4.860-second pass at
298.60 mph in the final round of qualifying for the Lucas Oil NHRA Route 66
Nationals at Route 66 Raceway. In today's second round (only one was held on
Friday because of rain), he was on a good run until he smoked the tires,
posting a 6.348/137.75.

"We had two good runs going," he said. "We burned a piston one round, smoked
the tires one run. We're not making excuses. We're not allowed to go out
there and back this thing down and try to get into this field. We've had
orders from headquarters to go out there and run it as hard as we can run it
every run. And that's what we're doing. Is it the right way of doing it?
We'll see at the end of the year. It's not the way everybody does it, but
that's the way some of them do it. We'll see what happens.

"(Oakley's Mad Scientist) Jim Jannard wants us to run it hard as we're
running it until we learn how to run it hard and fast. And if we don't then
we won't."

Cannon has advanced to the second round once this year, and qualified his
best of the season, No. 4, in Topeka last week. In final eliminations
tomorrow, he will face Gary Densham in the first round.

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